1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an appratus for cleaning a settling pond and more particularly for removing sediment from the bottom of a settling pond without removing large amounts of water.
2. Description of Prior Art
Numerous devices for removing sediment from settling ponds, lakes, streams, lagoons, and the like are known in the prior art. Such devices create a suction vacuum in the material to be removed. The problem with this type of device, is that the bottom is stirred up creating cloudy or muddy water the sediment of which later settles onto the area previously cleaned. Also, a large amount of pond water is taken along with the sediment resulting is a low ratio of dry tons sediment removed to total volume (water and sediment) removed. If the pond is lined, the suction vacuum may injure the liner thereby destroying or markedly lowering its effectiveness.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned difficulties of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a substantial contribution to the advancement of the removal of bottom sediment in the pond cleaning art.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus to remove sediment from the bottom of a pond while minimizing the disturbance of the bottom sediment into the clear water above the sediment layer.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which removes the sediment from the bottom of a pond and transports the removed sediment away from the cleaned pond.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which removes the settled sediment from a settling pond while minimizing the amount of water required to aid in the removal of the sediment.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which includes a wiper means with scrapes, loosens, plows and wipes the sediment from the surface of the liner and protects the liner from suction vacuum injury.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which provides a high solids content in the slurry effluent removed from the settling pond.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which removes a predetermined thickness of a sediment layer by manipulating the depth of the wiper means into the sediment layer.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which efficiently removes lime sludge, sewage treatment sludge, algae, sludge, and the like without a need for draining the pond or filtering large volumes of water.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which can effectively operate in ponds having long sloped walls.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which may be controlled by manipulating a gate means, a motive means and a pump means to form a slurry from the sediment accumulating on the bottom of a pond.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which can be manipulated to control the ratio of sediment removed to water removed from the pond thereby controlling the viscosity of the slurry comprising the sediment and a portion of water pumped from the pond.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which removes accumualted sediment from ponds provided with sand bottoms while limiting the amount of sand bottom removed with the sediment.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which provides a wiper means which cushions the pond sand bottom or liner from impacts with the apparatus during manipulation of the apparatus.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus which includes a hydrostatic chamber which forms a slurry of sediment and water resulting in a decreased volume of water and sediment removed from the pond bottom for disposal.
An advantage of the instant invention is that it removes sediment from the top of a permeable liner without causing it to float.
A further advantage of the instant invention is that it forms a concentrated mixture of bottom sediment and water thereby reducing the disposal volume by manipulating a gate means and/or a motive means and/or a pump means.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more pertinent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention is a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.